*OT*Biz Briefs-SGI bags $102 mil order- IT to reach $100 bil in a decade
Wednesday, February 9 7:07 AM SGT
Indian Infotech Sector to Reach US$100 BLN Dollars in a Decade
NEW DELHI, Feb 9 Asia Pulse - Indian Minister of Information Technology Pramod Mahajan yesterday said the domestic infotech industry was the fastest growing Indian sector and was slated to grow to US$100 billion within the next decade from a mere five billion industry today.
"The US$100 billion target is not a daydream, if this industry could grow from US$50 million to US$5 billion in the last decade, my dream of taking it to a US$100 billion industry in the next 10 years will not remain a mere dream," Mahajan said in his inaugural address at the `IT-Asia 2000' Expo being held at Pragati Maidan in Delhi.
Rueing the fact that infotech used English as a medium of communication, he said this meant only about 2-3 per cent of Indians could participate in the sector.
"To take the infotech sector to the masses, it is imperative that the medium of communication is such that it is understood by the remaining over 95 per cent population also," the minister said.
Reacting to the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) president Rahul Bajaj's demand on early implementation of the IT taskforce recommendations, he said this was being done on a priority basis.
"The ministry is holding meetings to discuss this report twice a week and we are sure implementation will be very fast," he added.
(PTI)
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Wednesday, February 9 7:37 AM SGT
Sgi Bags US$102 MLN Supercomputer Order From India
NEW DELHI, Feb 9 Asia Pulse - Multinational supercomputer giant SGI, formerly Silicon Graphics Inc, Tuesday said it had received a US$102 million order for a Cray supercomputer from India's Department of Science and Technology (DST).
The US-based company received the DST order, largest to be procured in the SAARC region in the recent past, after the Indian government found that Cray was the best machine suited for weather forecast, SGI (India) Managing Director Prasad V Meduri said.
Meduri said the announcement regarding the sale of the supercomputer was expected to be made during President Bill Clinton's forthcoming visit to India.
The SGI official said the company was in the process of getting the necessary clearances and licence from the US authorities for the supercomputer configured with 24 central processing units (CPUs). It would be delivered in about three months after due clearances.
India has been using a Cray supercomputer for the last 12 years and the machine has now become outdated, although SGI, which acquired Cray company over a year ago, has been servicing the machine which is situated at National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF).
(PTI) |
